Call Forwarding – Business Telecoms

What is Call Forwarding?

Call Forwarding is a telephony feature in certain telephone switching networks that redirects a telephone call to another destination, such as a cell phone or other telephone number where the requested call party is available. Call forwarding is a telephone feature that allows users to forward or divert incoming calls to an alternate number that could be either a landline or a cell number. Users are also given the option to divert incoming calls to voice mails. Telephones may be designed to divert calls without ringing; if calls are not answered or phones are switched off, lines are busy, a diversion may occur. In the absence of mobile network coverage, redirect calls can be set as well. This functionality is commonly used in mobile engineering. Call forwarding is often referred to as call diversion.

Call forwarding (also known as call diversion) is, in its simplest words, a way of ensuring that a call reaches a destination where it can be dealt with when the intended receiver is too busy to respond directly. For example, in cases where someone operates away from their job, they may use the call forwarding service to make sure that their inbound office phone calls are transferred to their home or cell phone, allowing them to maintain their productivity when they are not at their work station.

What are the types of Call Forwarding?

Although most companies know what call forwarding services are, not everyone is aware of the fact that there are many different forms of diversions that can be used to achieve a number of different results by various business forms. Although the following is not an exhaustive list, we have listed the most common forms of call forwarding services that companies actually use on a regular basis:

Unconditional Forwarding

Also known as a ‘simple redirect,’ unconditional forwarding is the clearest way of diverting incoming calls on the market today. The straight redirect would automatically forward incoming calls to the pre-set final call destination, irrespective of any other telecom setups that might be in operation. A lot of virtual telephone numbers are designed to operate this way and many businesses have gained from multiple local or regional virtual telephone numbers routing to a single endpoint. In practice, once straight redirects are set up on the phone network, the handset normally generates a special dial tone or what is known as a call whisper, so that the unconditional redirect becomes instantly evident to everyone who has picked up the line. Widespread in the United Kingdom and Europe, a call whisper will state that this is a call from the specific number – for example if you have a virtual 0207 telephone number you can have your telephone system stating that this is a call from your London telephone number so you know exactly how to answer the call. This is especially true in shared-service call centers where various companies might be responding to calls.

Call Cascading

Call cascading enables you to redirect your incoming phone calls to multiple recipient phones in an ordered pattern (instead ringing them all once) defined by the original intended receiver. Once a phone in the series is answered, the process of cascading stops and no other phones can ring out.

Call cascading is especially useful in situations where organizations have a specified call response hierarchy, as it will optimize internal productivity, ensuring that certain employees or team members are not compelled to respond to the phone unless it is absolutely necessary.

Find Me, Follow Me

Find Me and Follow Me are two specific types of call forwarding services that are often used together to optimize the productivity of the office.’ Find me’ services enable you to accept your incoming calls practically anywhere, with very little constraint, while ‘Follow me’ services make sure that you have access to a particular number of user-defined phone numbers.

Typically when find me/follow me programs are used, a virtual telephone number is allocated to the individual that is to be reached. A virtual telephone number can be used on multiple devices, whether smartphone or landline, providing great flexibility.

Hunt Groups

Often referred to as ‘line hunting,’ hunt groups disperse telephone calls from a single telephone number to several separate telephone lines via an algorithm that determines which line is receiving the call. Modern hunting groups work on a ‘most-idle hunting’ system where whatever phone line in the party has been inactive for the longest will receive the next call. This system is particularly effective well in busy call centres, ensuring a fair and even distribution of the workload of workers. However, it can also be tailored to match a call center’s preferences – for example, if a single staff member has a better rate of sales completion, then you can drive their way more calls.

Circular hunting

Circular hunting is another form of hunting group where incoming calls are distributed through a ’round robin’ system. If the first line is busy here, then the call will be redirected to line 2 and so on until no lines are left. If the final line is also busy in the hunt party, the call will be redirected back to the first line and the sequence will start again. The series never ‘reverses,’ so it’s called ‘circular hunting.’ Circular forwarding devices, such as fax machines, are commonly seen as a convenient way to distribute calls to electronic equipment.

Call Whisper / Screening

Call whisper (often referred to as ‘call screening’) works by enabling the targeted receiver to screen inbound calls, decide which ones to reply and which ones to object to. In action, once the receiver picks up the phone, a message will be played which they can only hear (the caller will only hear a ringing tone). It is then up to the receiver to determine whether or not they want to communicate with the caller. If they decide to take the call, by pressing a button, they can do so, or simply hang up if they decide not to take it. With call screening, you can add a prompt for the caller to state their name – the caller’s name will then be played to you while the caller is on hold, allowing you to determine whether to take the call or directly return the caller to the voicemail address.

If you are still unsure about which types of call forwarding will suit your company the most, please contact Btelecoms. Our experienced team will be more than happy to put you in the right direction and make sure you choose the strategy that will help your company as much as possible.

What are the Benefits of call forwarding to businesses?

Flexibility

One of the biggest advantages of call forwarding is that it makes key personnel available even when they're out of office. Phone calls from an office may be routed to a cell phone or home phone of an employee. Call forwarding in some systems can call a series of numbers until it receives a response. As long as a staff member is able to reply to one of the forwarding phones, they will always be within reach of speaking directly to customers, answering relevant questions or presenting key information.

Avoiding Voicemail

Another advantage of call forwarding, associated with increased employee availability, is that it protects callers from being faced with a voice mail message. Some clients find voice mail impersonal and may not be assured their message will be kept private or quickly resolved. An employee will set up a personal voice mail message on the last digit, such as a cell phone, using call-forwarding systems that use multiple numbers.

Mobility

Since call forwarding will port phone calls to the cell phone of an employee, it improves the mobility of employees. This makes traveling easier for workers, whether on an extended international trip or simply by walking out of the office for a few minutes, without the risk of missing an important call.

Increased Presence

Call forwarding often helps a company to extend its perceived presence by having multiple numbers forwarded to the same central place. It allows customers to call a local or toll-free phone, which will then forward their calls to the switchboard or main line of the company. Customers may prefer this to a long-distance call, which may require additional charges and give the impression that the company is distant or not up-to-date on technology.

Divert Calls to Anywhere in the World

In times gone by small businesses were almost impossible to compete on the global stage. Fortunately, thanks to modern technologies such as call forwarding, markets around the world have become much more available, even for start-ups, making playing field much more level. The great thing about using a call forwarding service is that it lets you operate from anywhere in the world, as long as you have a mobile phone signal. The Btelecoms call forwarding service will route incoming calls to you, wherever you may be, even in times when there is no one at your office. This allows you to conduct business in practice, even when on the move.

Better still, the call forwarding system can be programmed to operate sequentially, which means you can reach other employees or divisions if you are too busy to take the call, such as when you have to attend meetings or are away on vacation. This will improve the company's chances of catching all major business calls, dramatically improving your ability to convert as many leads as possible.

What can you Expect from Call Forwarding Service for Business?

Before we start, here’s a summary of what to expect from any call forwarding service you choose. Basic features that should come with any plan for no additional cost include:

Time-of-Day Routing
Call Groups / Ring Groups
Simultaneous and Sequential Ring Rules
Find-me Follow-me
Call Forwarding to Several Devices Worldwide
VIP Call Forwarding and Call Barring

Premium features that are often included in more expensive service plans or with additional fees include:

Geo Routing
Custom IVR Greetings
Voicemail Transcription
Advanced Skills-based Routing
Call Queueing
Call Recording

How to Compare Top Call Forwarding Services?

When comparing Top Call Forwarding Services for Business, here’s what you need to consider:

Subscription

Monthly fee for your phone number forwarding service. This may also include prepackaged speaking time.

Feature Set

The cost of the features of your business. Some call forwarding services charge an add-on fee for each feature, while others charge per user.

Call Rate

The cost per minute of calls sent to you. These are often included in your subscription fee.

Setup Fees

one-time payment to set up the forwarding of a phone number. Luckily, most of the top call forwarding services no longer charge setup fees.

Why you should choose Btelecoms today?

Integrates Call Forwarding With Your Existing Systems

As any successful business owner will tell you, integration is key to the modern business world. This mantra has certainly been taken on board by Btelecoms’s call forwarding systems and can easily be integrated with many of your company’s existing systems.

Easy Installation and Business Scaling

Setting up a functional call forwarding service is a surprisingly quick, easy and cost-effective process that does not require the installation of additional wires and cables to relieve the stress of the installation process. Since it is difficult to tell how many phone lines your business will need in 6 months or a year, it is important to bear in mind that upgrading the call forwarding system is just as simple a process as setting up one first. When the time comes to scale up your business operations, simple configuration changes will allow you to add new lines for new employees as they come in. This flexibility in real-time means that you can upgrade your ‘on-the-fly’ call forwarding system, add and remove lines as needed, remove the need for ‘big work’ from upgrades at the end of each quarter.

If you would like to know more about our simple call forwarding installation and upgrade processes, be sure to contact Btelecoms and let us know what we can do for you.

Extra Unique Features

While the quantity call forwarding system is surely one of the key elements of the Btelecoms account, it is definitely not the only one. When you sign up for a Btelecoms account, your company will be able to make use of all sorts of great extra features that will really help you bring your business to the next level.

Additional features include a 24/7 virtual receptionist service, voicemail transcripts, conference calls, professionally recorded custom greetings and much more. When combined with our call forwarding service, the full Btelecoms suite can really enhance the business, enabling start-ups and other small companies to galvanize their existing systems and give themselves a much more professional edge.

Our Call Forwarding Saves Money

Of course, saving money is the main concern for any growing business. There’s not much point in having all these great features and providing a great service if your company can’t make a profit. Luckily, Btelecoms, along with all its great features, comes with no set-up fee and can be run at little cost day, making it an extremely cost-effective program to integrate into your business.

Your company can take advantage of extra savings by removing the need to deploy and maintain expensive equipment, as well as by eliminating the ongoing cost of line rental. Staff overheads will also be reduced, as your company will not need to hire a staff member to answer the phone, take notes and forward calls manually.

If there’s any information you’d like to know and is not here or will like to get started, please reach out today and let us know!.

FAQ

Does the caller know that his call is being forwarded?

No, the caller at your number does not know that you have chosen to reply at a specific location. Because your business calls may be routed to your home number, you should be prepared to respond in a manner that is appropriate to the nature and image of your business.

Can I pick a number of my own?

of course! You can select any number from our extensive inventory-either a local (geographic) or a non-geographic number, depending on your preference. If you’re looking for something special that isn’t displayed online, please contact our sales department at the local numbers in the header above and we’ll help you find the right number for you!

How long is it going to take to set up?

Setup is quick and easy. Your Btelecoms number will be ready for use as soon as the registration process is complete-which normally takes only 5 minutes.